By Rory Kelly
“At its greatest, comedy can serve to remind us of our shared ridiculousness.”
That is how Matt Davis thinks that comedy, like several artwork type, may also help convey folks collectively. The comic, from the U.S. state of Alabama, has carried out in 300 cities and over 65 nations. This month, he has two reveals in Seoul, one doing stand-up comedy and one doing storytelling. He is introduced his comedy to the nation many instances earlier than.
Regardless of his globetrotting profession, Davis tries to maintain his act the identical for all audiences. He advised The Korea Occasions that he strives to create materials that can work for folks in any location.
Actually, that is the third hour of stand-up that he’s written with this method. And whereas he finds that referential variations exist between cultures and totally different areas, these are small and “most issues are merely human and shared.”
Open to doing comedy wherever — though he admits to being nervous about North Korea — Davis doesn’t fear about restrictions, both official or in any other case, on what he can or cannot say. He additionally hasn’t discovered language to be a barrier to his stand-up, even in nations the place he doesn’t communicate the first language.
Davis’ comedy has been described as ‘mental,’ although he thinks this is applicable much less to his presentation and extra to his selection of fabric, which touches on heavy subjects like politics and faith. His intention isn’t to be controversial however he admits that his present isn’t for everybody.
He stresses, although, that he’s making an attempt to make folks snicker. “I’m making an attempt to offer my viewpoint in a humorous means, not persuade anybody to agree,” he mentioned.
He does analysis subjects earlier than he brings them up onstage, nevertheless. “I may speak critically,” he mentioned, “however I choose to joke.”
Starting his comedy profession at age 17, Davis has been performing for 27 years. He admits to feeling envy towards younger comedians, who can go surfing to search out materials from all around the world and from many alternative many years.
Requested if there are any jokes from when he started that he may nonetheless use, he responds that there are one or two that he’s repurposed however that he’d relatively write new issues. “I’m making an attempt to repeatedly write and develop,” he mentioned. “I feel persevering with on a path like that, then it solely stops once you do.”
Talking on how comedy has modified in his many years of performing, he thinks the interconnected nature of the trendy world has highlighted the big variety of kinds that exist within the comedy world and in addition their limitations. On the similar time, the progress of society has allowed kinds to evolve as nicely.
When requested why he began doing stand-up, Davis displays that it was so way back that “the why I believed then most likely wasn’t even the true why.” He added, “I wish to say ‘the traditional mixture of ignorance and vanity.’”
And at last, the place is the most effective place Davis has finished comedy? “South Korea, in fact!” he mentioned.
Davis will headline a stand-up present beginning at 9.30 p.m. on Oct. 11 at KYLDN Social Membership in central Seoul’s Gyeongnidan neighborhood, with openers Hojip Jeon and Kristen Pimley. Tickets are 10,000 received prematurely or 15,000 received on the door.
He will even be performing a storytelling present at 9.30 p.m. on Oct. 18, additionally at KYLDN Social Membership. Tickets are 10,000 received and will be bought prematurely or on the door. Each reveals are produced by Stand Up Seoul by Kristen Pimley and Hojip Jeon.
Go to badfamiliar.com for extra info or comply with @standupseoul on Instagram for particulars concerning the present and to order tickets.
Rory Kelly is a author, actor, improviser and humorist based mostly in Seoul. He is additionally typically noticed not fairly successful pub quizzes within the Itaewon space.